--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But does it make any difference now?\" he…" description: "\"“But does it make any difference now?\" he thought. \"And what will be there, and what has been done here? Why was I so sorry to part with life? There wa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c6/leo-tolstoy-55_life_but-does-it-make-any-difference-now-he-t_805110.png" --- # But does it make any difference now?" he thought. "And… ![“But does it make any difference now?" he thought. "And what will be there, and what has been done here? Why was I so sorry to part with life? There was something in this life I didn't and still don't understand...” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c6/leo-tolstoy-55_life_but-does-it-make-any-difference-now-he-t_805110.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c6/leo-tolstoy-55_life_but-does-it-make-any-difference-now-he-t_805110.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c6/leo-tolstoy-55_life_but-does-it-make-any-difference-now-he-t_805110.png) > ““But does it make any difference now?" he thought. "And what will be there, and what has been done here? Why was I so sorry to part with life? There was something in this life I didn't and still don't understand...”” [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The character questions the meaning of existence, regret, and the unknown aspects of life, reflecting existential doubt. **In simple terms:** Life’s meaning is uncertain and often confusing. Key Takeaway Contemplate life’s purpose and uncertainties. Themes existentialism regret meaning Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - creative writing - mental health - spiritual searching Key Concepts philosophy self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life meaning? - How do you cope with uncertainty? A Different Perspective May lead to paralysis without action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Difference Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difference-thought-1337020/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-didn-269853/) [Sorry Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorry-life-456335/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Thought Sorry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-sorry-883311/) ## Related quotes > [I know I'm a lot to handle and I'm a lot more fucked than you probably thought, I'm sorry it's like I can't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn/i-know-i-m-a-lot-to-handle-and-i-m-a-lot-more-fucked-than-you/) [Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn/) > [“There it was, Hema must have thought; it was both the sorry and the thank-you that was so long overdue, and the funny thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/there-it-was-hema-must-have-thought-it-was-both-the-sorry-and-the/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [And I thought your ''Sorry'' meant something...Whatever,My fault for believing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazzy/and-i-thought-your-sorry-meant-something-whatever-my-fault-for/) [Jazzy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazzy/) > [You have controled me, try and made me eat something I didnt want to, and for the last time I will never forgive you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-moller/you-have-controled-me-try-and-made-me-eat-something-i-didnt-want-to/) [Virginia Moller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-moller/) > [If you know anything about me - and, if you do, I'm sorry that your life turned out like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/if-you-know-anything-about-me-and-if-you-do-i-m-sorry-that-your-life/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [Sometimes it takes a little heartbreak and pain to realize the difference between those who you thought were your world and those who you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/sometimes-it-takes-a-little-heartbreak-and-pain-to-realize-the/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [I am sorry my life is so marred and maimed by extravagance. But I cannot live otherwise. I, at any rate, pay the penalty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-am-sorry-my-life-is-so-marred-and-maimed-by-extravagance-but-i/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“That was the heart of the difference, she thought. In her world she had learned to be . Other people seemed to gain their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/that-was-the-heart-of-the-difference-she-thought-in-her-world-she-had/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [Don't feel sorry because my life is over. Be happy that it happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-burns/don-t-feel-sorry-because-my-life-is-over-be-happy-that-it-happened/) [Pat Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-burns/) > [“She wondered when her daughter would realise that for the most part, people weren't that different. Young and old, male or female, pretty much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-moriarty/she-wondered-when-her-daughter-would-realise-that-for-the-most-part/) [Laura Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-moriarty/) > [~Sorry Mom I'm not the best fucking daughter that you wanted me to be.. Sorry but I cant have you in my life anymore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-eyes/sorry-mom-i-m-not-the-best-fucking-daughter-that-you-wanted-me-to-be/) [Angel\_eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angel-eyes/) > [To all the people I've lost touch with I'm sorry and life is so short I just want you to know I still care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-all-the-people-i-ve-lost-touch-with-i-m-sorry-and-life-is-so-short/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If ive ever beefed with you or am beefing with you on my part, I'm sorry. Life is too short for all this and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-ive-ever-beefed-with-you-or-am-beefing-with-you-on-my-part-i-m/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There was such a difference, he thought, between the beauty that illuminated, and the beauty that was illuminated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/there-was-such-a-difference-he-thought-between-the-beauty-that/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [“What are you doing sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself? When life kicks your butt, kick the shit out of it!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-a-reeves/what-are-you-doing-sitting-around-and-feeling-sorry-for-yourself-when/) [Elizabeth A. Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-a-reeves/) ## More by Leo Tolstoy > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Energy rests upon love; and come as it will, there's no forcing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/energy-rests-upon-love-and-come-as-it-will-there-s-no-forcing-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“If you only knew what those society women are, and women in general! My father is right. Selfish, vain, stupid, trivial in everything—that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-you-only-knew-what-those-society-women-are-and-women-in-general-my/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To speak of it would be giving importance to that which has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-speak-of-it-would-be-giving-importance-to-that-which-has-none/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Once we're thrown off our habitual paths, we think all is lost, but it's only here that the new and the good begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/once-we-re-thrown-off-our-habitual-paths-we-think-all-is-lost-but-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He knew she was there by the rapture and the terror that seized on his heart. She was standing talking to a lady at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-knew-she-was-there-by-the-rapture-and-the-terror-that-seized-on/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Rest, nature, books, music...such is my idea of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/rest-nature-books-music-such-is-my-idea-of-happiness/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He was not to blame for being born with an irrepressible charachter and a mind some how constrained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-was-not-to-blame-for-being-born-with-an-irrepressible-charachter/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The idea shared by many that life is a vale of tears is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-say-that-a-work-of-art-is-good-but-incomprehensible-to-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [True life is lived when tiny changes occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/true-life-is-lived-when-tiny-changes-occur/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Explore all 1,754 Leo Tolstoy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But does it make any difference now?\" he thought. \"And what will be there, and what has been done here? Why was I so sorry to part with life? There was something in this life I didn't and still don't understand...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leo Tolstoy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/but-does-it-make-any-difference-now-he-thought-and-what-will-be-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/but-does-it-make-any-difference-now-he-thought-and-what-will-be-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c6/leo-tolstoy-55_life_but-does-it-make-any-difference-now-he-t_805110.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c6/leo-tolstoy-55_life_but-does-it-make-any-difference-now-he-t_805110.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c6/leo-tolstoy-55_life_but-does-it-make-any-difference-now-he-t_805110.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But does it make any difference now?\" he thought. \"And what will be there, and what has been done here? Why…” — Leo Tolstoy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Leo Tolstoy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But does it make any difference...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/but-does-it-make-any-difference-now-he-thought-and-what-will-be-there/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/but-does-it-make-any-difference-now-he-thought-and-what-will-be-there/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```